Miracles
by choirgirlohs
Summary: Modern AU. One-Shot. Eponine has just given birth to her and Enjolras's baby quite early, and Enjolras's last hope to save his daughter. Trigger Warning: Premature Birth. Credit to unicornsanddolphins on Tumblr for cover image.


Enjolras held onto Eponine's hand as she screamed in agonizing pain. When she fell back onto the hospital bed, his free hand moved to wipe the hair that was matted by sweat away off of her forehead. "You're doing great, Eponine. You're doing great," was all he could say until she would snap at him to shut up. He pressed his lips to her forehead and mumbled on it, "Everything will be fine."

In all honesty, he had no idea whether or not she and the baby would be fine. The baby was ten weeks early, and it seemed to be taking forever for the anesthesiologist to get there to give Eponine the epidural strong enough for the C-section the doctor had told them she would have to have. The thought that had been plaguing his mind since Eponine's water broke was that something was going to go wrong, and that was something he wasn't prepared for. He hadn't even been prepared for the pregnancy to happen in the first place.

_Enjolras walked into the apartment that he shared with Eponine and threw his stuff on the table by the door. He had just got done dealing with the idiot prosecuting attorneys as they worked out a plea bargain. All he really wanted to do was relax with his girlfriend and catch up on the most recent episode of Doctor Who._

_But those plans quickly changed as Eponine came out of the bathroom, looking obviously sick and worried. Her gaze met his and he instantly walked over to her and wrapped her in his arms. She didn't reciprocate the hug and instead whispered, "You forgot..."_

_His brow arched as he looked down at her and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "The night of Marius and Cosette's wedding... The night after we had that massive fight...You forgot protection..." That was something he understood and his mouth dried and his eyes widened in shock._

_"Are you...?" She slowly nodded her head, blinking back the obvious tears that were pricking her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed the top of her head. She cried into his chest silently until she whispered, "I'm sorry..."_

_He shook his head and moved to look at her. "Don't be sorry, okay?... We're going to work through this together, and we'll figure out what we want to do along the way."_

The anesthesiologist came into the room and Enjolras helped them turn her onto her side. They quickly injected the epidural into her spine and laid her back down. He was approached by her doctor who told him that he would need to change into scrubs for safety precautions. He agreed and told Eponine that he would be right back.

He quickly put on the scrubs and hair net and went back to Eponine's side. He gripped onto her hand and looked at her as she looked back to him. There was a sense of fear in her eyes, and Enjolras could see it plainly. He kissed her forehead softly as the doctors put up the curtain and made their incision.

A tear slowly fell from Eponine's eye and Enjolras wiped it away slowly. It reminded him vaguely of the first ultrasound they went to together.

_Eponine laid on the table as they waited for the doctor to come in. Her hand held onto Enjolras's tightly and she looked at him. "I'm nervous," she said softly as she looked at him._

_He could only let out a dry chuckle as he nodded his head at her. "I know what you mean. I'm nervous too, Ep. But everything will be okay. We're just going to be seeing the little one. That's all."_

_She gave him a faint smile and nodded, looking up to the door as the doctor came inside the room. She introduced herself and washed her hands before putting on the gloves. She explained the procedure and how it might cause some discomfort as she put the gel on the probe. She asked Eponine if she was ready, which the brunette gave a hesitant nod to._

_The doctor did the TVS and Eponine and Enjolras looked at the screen as they waited for something to show up. Eponine's hand tightened around Enjolras as the doctor pointed to a small blip on the screen. "That right there is your baby."_

_Eponine smiled as she looked at it, a tear strolling down her face. Her boyfriend took his thumb and wiped it away and she turned her face back to him. "I don't need to figure out what I want... I want it." Enjolras let out a deep breath of air and looked back at the screen before kissing her gently. "Good. I do too." _

"It's a girl," the doctor said before handing the baby off to a nurse who quickly washed off the baby and wrapped her in a blanket before rushing to the NICU. The doctor quickly stitched her up before explaining all of the complications that could happen due to such an early birth. He explained that their daughter's lungs might not have fully developed, that her blood pressure might be low, and that she wouldn't be able to maintain body temperature very well.

Eponine swallowed hard and looked back to Enjolras, obviously distraught. "When will we be able to see her?" The doctor smiled and looked at them. "You'll be able to see her in about two hours. We want you to have some time to readjust and we'll need to make sure that your epidural has worn off and that your other pain killers are working. After that, we'll be able to take you to see her."

The two nodded and sat together, waiting out the torturous two hours. Enjolras held onto Eponine's hand and did everything to make sure she was comfortable. Eponine's eyes stayed glued to the clock on the wall and she tapped Enjolras's arm as the two hour mark passed. "It's been two hours. I want to see her."

He looked at Eponine and held onto her hands, kissing them softly. "Be patient. The doctor will be back to take us to see her soon." As soon as he said that, the doctor came in pushing an empty wheelchair. "Are you ready to meet your daughter?" Eponine nodded her head repeatedly as Enjolras gave a stern nod. They both carefully helped Eponine into the wheelchair and they wheeled her off in the direction of the NICU.

When they got there, they were taken to the incubator that housed their daughter. The sight of her made Eponine tear up of happiness, but also of fear. Their daughter had a canula to provide oxygen in her nose and had a feeding tube attached to her mouth. The doctor told them that she weighed three pounds and ten and a quarter ounces.

Enjolras and Eponine looked at their daughter and she whispered, "Caitlin Marie Enjolras." He arched his brow as he looked at his girlfriend and she repeated herself. "Caitlin Marie Enjolras. That was one of the names we liked... And that's what she looks like." Enjolras looked at their daughter and nodded.

"I agree," he said softly before helping Eponine up to slide her hands through the gloves and touching their daughter. "Hi, Caitlin... I'm your mummy... And this guy is your daddy... And we love you... We love you so much..." She felt her eyes tear up and she removed her hands and looked to Enjolras before having the doctor help her sit back down.

Enjolras slowly slid his hands into the gloves and extended a finger to Caitlin, who grabbed a hold of it feebly. Eponine watched carefully and sniffled softly as she watched the two. Enjolras stayed as solemn as ever, but inside he could feel his heart breaking for their daughter.

He took his arms out and turned to face Eponine. "Let's go back to the room. You need some sleep, and I'm sure we can come back later." Eponine hesitantly nodded before letting the doctor wheel her back to her room. They helped her back into the bed where she fell asleep quite quickly. Enjolras looked at her and kissed her forehead softly before leaving the room.

He wandered around the hospital until he found the chapel. He looked at the entrance before wandering in slowly. He looked around and sat down in one of the pews. He looked at the crucifix on the wall and he took in a deep breath.

"I've never done this before," he said to what some people believed as a God. He cleared his throat before continuing, "but I need some kind of miracle... I need you to pull Caitlin through this... I never knew that I wanted a kid until Eponine got pregnant with her and we saw that first ultrasound. To take her away from us now would be cruel, and I can't picture a life without her. If you let her live, I promise to tell Eponine that you were the one who pulled her through and we'll go to church and we'll be the best parents that we can. Just please pull her through... Please..."

He wiped away a stray tear from his eye and climbed up before walking back to the room that housed a sleeping Eponine. He smiled fondly at her before kissing her forehead softly. He somehow knew that everything was going to be okay.

Seven weeks later, the new parents were standing at the crib as they watched their healthy daughter sleep. Eponine smiled at their baby before looking up to Enjolras. "She has your blue eyes."

He smiled and kissed his girlfriend's hair. "She has your hair, though. And your nose." Eponine laughed softly and nodded as she looked at their sleeping angel. "I'm so glad that she made it out okay... I don't know what I would have done without her."

"I had a feeling everything would be okay," Enjolras said, smiling to himself as he remembered everything that happened the day Caitlin was born. Eponine turned around to face him and she arched her brow. "What do you mean?"

"It's a long story."

Eponine looked back to Caitlin and then face her boyfriend again. "We have time." Enjolras then took her hand and walked over to the rocking chair, pulling her into his lap. He explained the night that Caitlin was born and everything that happened. They both looked back to their sleeping baby and smiled.

"She really is a miracle," Eponine whispered as she leaned back into Enjolras.

He nodded and kissed the back of her head. "And I'm glad that she's ours."


End file.
